The prior art discloses fat-soluble vitamin powder compositions which are useful for administration as such and also for the formation of pharmaceutical dosage forms, for example, tablets, capsules, powders, and the like; and for the preparation of animal feeds. U.S. Pat. No. 2,756,177 discloses a process for preparing dry, free-flowing powders by forming an emulsion containing a vitamin-active material, water, gelatin, and/or gum acacia and a sugar; converting the emulsions to droplets; collecting the individual droplets in a mass of starchy powder in such a manner that the vitamin-active particles formed from the droplets are kept separated from each other until their particulate form is established; and separating the vitamin-active particles from the starchy collecting powder. The vitamin-containing powder prepared according to the above process is water soluble and exhibits satisfactory stability properties for most uses; however, the material does have problems withstanding the stresses of pelletizing when used for the fortification of animal feeds. The vitamin containing material tends to lose its physical integrity under the temperature, moisture, and pressure conditions of the feed pelleting process and results in a loss of the physical integrity of the product thereby compromising the stability of the fat-soluble vitamin.
It is an important object of the invention to provide a vitamin-active preparation in the form of beadlets characterized by high stability and potency. A further object is to provide a vitamin-active beadlet which will withstand the temperature, moisture, and pressure of the feed pelleting process without losing their physical integrity. A still further object is to provide a vitamin-active preparation which is water insoluble, maintains bioavailability, and exhibits superior stability when pelletized.